RAIDERS 18, WILDCATS 6: York's comeback bid is flagged down

Friday

YORK, Maine — It appeared that the momentum had swung over to the York sideline in the opening minute of the fourth quarter during Friday’s Class C South football game against Fryeburg Academy.

And just like, that it disappeared.

The York defense had been on the field for the final 9 minutes, 53 seconds of the third quarter, and Fryeburg, leading 12-0, had a fourth-and-5 from the York 8 to start the fourth.

Fryeburg quarterback Oscar Saunders misfired along the sideline, and the Wildcat defense came running off the field in celebration.

After Connor Daley picked up 4 yards on first down, York sophomore Teagan Hynes and junior Riley Linn appeared to have connected for an 88-yard touchdown to get the Wildcats on the scoreboard and cut their deficit in half with more than 11 minutes to play.

However, the touchdown was called back as York was called for a block in the back just over the the line of scrimmage.

Fryeburg maintained its 12-point lead, scored on its ensuing possession and walked off the field with an 18-6 win. Both teams are now 1-1.

“That was a big call,” York first-year head coach Matt Nelson said. “If we score there, it’s a one-score game and Fryeburg is playing the game differently and we’re playing the game differently from that point on. That was a big penalty call.”

York finally broke through on the scoreboard with 3:39 left in the game as Hynes (17-for-26, 162 yards and two interceptions) and Jake Nelson hooked up on a 12-yard touchdown.

“It was a timely play,” coach Nelson said. “We saw man across the board, and we figured we had (Jake Nelson) on that pattern. We liked the mismatch there and (Hynes) put it right there for him. It’s a big thing for the kids (to get that score) and a big thing for us coaches; you never want to put a zero up on the board offensively.”

Fryeburg junior Calvin Southwick ran for a team-high 122 yards on 22 carries; his 7-yard run off right tackle gave the Raiders a 6-0 lead after their opening drive.

“We did a good job up front,” Fryeburg coach Dave Turner said. “We saw some things up front that we were able to control and for the most part we made the correct reads and had a lot of good runs.”

Fryeburg had seven plays in the first half that went for more than 10 yards, the largest a 32-yard run by Saunders on Fryeburg’s very first play; four of the seven came on the opening drive.

Fryeburg blocked a punt on York’s second possession of the night and began its next drive at the York 11. Southwick ran for nine yards on first down, Saunders scored from the 2 on the next play and Fryeburg led 12-0 with 3:36 left in the first quarter.

York kept Fryeburg off the scoreboard for the next 35 minutes.

“We made an adjustment after the first quarter with what they were doing with their read option and we were having some success,,” Nelson said. “I am really proud of our defense. We had a scheme and we changed it really quick and the kids adjusted. Fryeburg didn’t score again until the fourth quarter. Our defense played well. We have some things to work on, but also some things to build on.”

Linn’s second fumble recovery on the opening play of the second half gave York a first down at the Fryeburg 46.

However, the Wildcats went three-and-out and Fryeburg took over at its own 26 with 9:53 left in the third.

The Raiders took the rest of the quarter off the clock, running 16 plays and setting up a fourth-and-5 from the York 8. Southwick, on the time-consuming drive, ran for 46 yards on nine carries, and Saunders completed 3 of 4 passes for 18 yards. Fryeburg kept the drive going on conversions on fourth-and-1, third-and-6 and third-and-5

“Any time you can possess the ball for that amount of time is great,” Turner said. “You’re keeping the ball, and you’re keeping a team that is throwing the ball all over the place off the field. We started taking it to them up front and made some big plays in both the running and passing games.”

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